I first met Pieter Mioch in Tokyo, at some world championship
that we both attended unfortunately not as players but as
interpreters. At that time he was doing weights and drinking
proteins and he did look much more like a pro wrestler than an
amateur go player. Anyway, I immediately liked his laid-back
attitude and his sense of humor. Soon we were playing go
occasionally (sometimes at parks, much to the annoyance of
Japanese passers-by) and mah-jong not so occasionally; we were
both hooked on that devilish game and did not stop to think
about the steep tuition fees that we were paying to our seasoned
Japanese opponents.

In spite of this and other reproachable habits, Pieter somehow
got to marry a charming and talented girl named Waka, and they
moved to a house far out in the wilderness (some say that Waka
chose the location so that Pieter could not find anybody to play
mah-jong with, but I could not confirm this.) Since then Pieter
has become a difficult-to-reach man, but in these days the
Internet goes really everywhere and he's got a connection in his
country retreat (I've heard that he charges the local children a
fee for playing games online, but this is also probably a hoax.)

Thanks to the net now we can have a glimpse of his go wisdom, so
please read on. Pieter has the knack of explaining old concepts
in a refreshing way, and even if you don't understand a thing I
guarantee that you won't get bored.